For the first time ever, OSHA has made available to the public a decade’s worth of injury and ilness data. A searchable online database of 80,000 employers from the years 1996 to 2007 is now available.

“Making injury and illness information available to the public is part of OSHA’s response to the administration’s commitment to make government more transparent to the American people,” said David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for OSHA.

OSHA also uses the data to target inspections. The Site Specific Targeting Program helps the agency focus its efforts on the appropriate area and industries.

New Pig’s address has been One Pork Avenue from Day One, but now it feels more official than ever. The county 911 system has been gathering street and road names lately (and changing some, and sometimes getting dramatic reactions) and fortunately they accepted “One Pork Avenue” from us.

That’s data that Google uses, and after only (!) two months, we’re now showing up on Google Maps with our semi-famous address! We’ve arrived!

Hey, guess whose products will be used throughout the 118 venues of the 2010 Winter Olympics?!

I mean besides the usual suspects.

Image © Norman7 | Dreamstime.com

You guessed it—PIG® products! The ones shown below (dozens of each!) were ordered for controlling leaks and spills.

Are we thrilled? Ab-sow-luge-ly!!

PIG® Spill Kit in a 95-Gallon Overpack Salvage Drum

PIG® Spill Kit in a 20-Gallon Overpack Salvage Drum

PIG® Poly Spill Containment Pallet

There’s a saying about breakfast: Eggs are a contribution but bacon takes commitment.

Scientists may change that. They’re perfecting pork made from pig stem cells.

The results so far are squishy and a little low in protein, but promising for hot dogs.

The possible (repeat: possible) environmental benefits are eye-opening. If livestock raising could be cut way back, greenhouse gas emissions, land use and water use might drop by 95 percent.

Of course, there could be other ramifications: Health effects of eating engineered meat will be carefully watched.

At any rate, keep an eye out for specials on lab chops.

Image © Minute | Dreamstime.com

Sometimes, in safety, people assume. Those assumptions can lead to some very nasty incidents. When it comes to machine guarding, assumptions can be deadly. Don’t let these common mistakes hurt you or anyone at your company:

Mistake #1— People assume that machines are safe when they purchase them.

This is a common misconception that ends up hurting people. Machine manufacturers are not responsible for guarding the machines they create. The consumer who purchases the item must evaluate the machine to ensure that all areas are properly guarded.

A simple, but effective tool is a machine guarding checklist that is used to inspect each piece of equipment in your facility. Use this OSHA resource to create a machine guarding checklist for your facility.

Mistake #2— People assume everyone understands machine guarding.

The idea of safety being common sense is rampant… and wrong. Safety is learned and, if safety is learned, we must educate.

Although many guards are created to prevent any contact with dangerous moving parts, it can still happen if an employee does not understand the equipment. Machine operators must be trained annually on machine guarding and the dangers they face.

OSHA states in their Machine Guarding E-Tool that we should train on the following:

1. a description and identification of the hazards associated with particular machines;
2. the safeguards themselves, how they provide protection, and the hazards for which they are intended;
3. how to use the safeguards and why;
4. how and under what circumstances safeguards can be removed, and by whom (in most cases, repair or maintenance personnel only); and
5. when a lockout/tagout program is required.
6. what to do (e.g., contact the supervisor) if a safeguard is damaged, missing, or unable to provide adequate protection.

Mistake #3— People assume machine guarding is good enough for lockout/tagout.

One type of guard is an interlock, a device which shuts down a piece of equipment when a specific piece of the machinery is moved or opened. This is a great way to guard machinery to prevent injuries.

It is not, however, acceptable for locking or tagging out a piece of equipment. Although the machine has been deactivated, it is not locked out. The threat of restart is still there with interlocks. Always use a full lockout/tagout program when working on equipment. Never rely on machine guarding to protect you.

Remember, machine guarding is extremely important. You could save your employees from losing time at work, losing an arm or losing their life.

The NFPA 1600 iPhone app!

Searchable emergency preparedness info at your fingertips: best practices, web links, agency phone numbers and more.

All for the low, low price of FREE.

New Pig will be the recipient (once again!!!) of three Product of the Year awards at the Manufacturing Summit and Awards ceremony to be held in Chicago on March 29th. The products honored are:

PIG BLUE™ Absorbent Mat in the Maintenance Product Category

PIG® Sheet in the Maintenance Tools and Equipment Category

PIG® Vapor-Control Latching Drum Lid in the Fluid Handling Category

The readers of Plant Engineering magazine voted for the products they deemed best in each category as featured in the November issue. New Pig may receive a gold, silver or bronze medal based on the results of this balloting. Winners will be announced at the ceremony in Chicago during the Manufacturing Summit and will be recognized within the pages of the April 2010 issue.

We’ll keep you posted on the results!

I’m going to link to a episode of Hoarders, the eye-opening TV program about people whose homes become crammed with things that they can’t throw away, and let me first express sympathy for those profiled. They and their loved ones suffer. This clip shows two hoarders seeking improvement and therapy. I respect that and wish the best for them and their families.

Having said that, my fellow Pigger Dan noticed that the PIG® logo makes a brief appearance at the 6-minute mark. It’s always nice to be in the middle of cleanup operations.